VanBand BBQ TN
Rating
1497
peak 1497 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
2023-06-09
latest 2026-06-12
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 53%
overall standings
Best overall
652.5480
Competitor Series · Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITORS SERIES)
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
22%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
2
and counting
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 165.37 · weakest Chicken (161.84)
Road miles
207
mi across 9 mapped stops · furthest 36 mi
Schedule strength
37%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1532)
Purse competed for
$39K
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 2 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
307.29 / 360
2 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Storylines
⚔️ A tough matchup
Bad company cookers has come out ahead in 5 of their 6 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of M-1 Smokin' Guns in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
😤 Pork Ribs nemesis
Even in their strongest meat, Big James Kitchen has out-cooked them in 5 of 5 shared pork ribs entries.
Teams like this (closest power rating, TN first)
Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTQue | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Bad company cookers | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| THE BLAZERS | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| BUCKSHOT MALONE'S PIG SHACK | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Holy Smoke | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Hogs B Hatin' | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| The BBQ Asylum | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Big James Kitchen | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 173.7144 | 136.4568 | 161.84 | top 49% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 175.4288 | 157.6456 | 165.37 | top 51% |
| Pork | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.8228 | 156.5712 | 164.06 | top 60% |
| Brisket | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 57% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 44% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITOR SERIES) | 4 | 10 | 0 | top 60% | 2026-06-12 |
| Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | 2 | 48 | 0 | top 44% | 2026-03-20 |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2026 (4 contests)
- Cooks mostly in TN (9 of 9 contests)
- Most-entered category: Pork Ribs (9 entries)
- Average Backyard overall score: 307.29 / 360
Milestones
- 🚩 2023-06-09 — First tracked contest · Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITORS SERIES)
- ⭐ 2023-06-09 — Career-best overall score (652.5480) · Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITORS SERIES)
- 📣 2026-05-01 — First call · Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITOR SERIES)
- 📈 2026-06-12 — Peak power rating (1497) · Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITOR SERIES)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +7.8 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITOR SERIES) | 2026-06-12 |
| +3.5 | Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITOR SERIES) | 2026-05-01 |
| +2.8 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | 2026-03-20 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.8 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITOR SERIES) | 2024-06-07 |
| -5.6 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITORS SERIES) | 2023-06-09 |
| -0.2 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITOR SERIES) | 2025-06-13 |
| -0.2 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | 2025-03-14 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50% | top 38% | 87.3% | 87.3% |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 52% | 83.5% | 83.5% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 85% | — | — |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 70% | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-12 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITOR SERIES) Springfield, TN | 10 / 32 (516.5144) | 10 (173.7144) | 12 (171.9772) | 15 (170.8228) | — |
| 2026-05-01 | Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITOR SERIES) Murfreesboro, TN | 10 / 23 (509.6688) | 7 (170.8344) | 2 (175.4288) | — | — |
| 2026-03-20 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 50 / 125 (314.1484) | 51 (156.5028) | 49 (157.6456) | 22 (169.6800) | — |
| 2026-03-20 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN | — | — | 37 (169.6800) | — | — |
| 2025-06-13 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITOR SERIES) Springfield, TN | 20 / 36 (499.3372) | 14 (171.4516) | 28 (161.6572) | 26 (166.2284) | — |
| 2025-03-14 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 48 / 100 (300.4228) | 48 (136.4568) | 38 (163.9660) | 42 (158.8000) | — |
| 2025-03-14 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN | — | — | 62 (159.9772) | — | — |
| 2024-06-07 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITOR SERIES) Springfield, TN | 28 / 33 (489.6340) | 21 (165.1428) | 25 (162.2512) | 29 (162.2400) | — |
| 2023-06-09 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITORS SERIES) Springfield, TN | 21 / 30 (652.5480) | 26 (158.8112) | 17 (165.7256) | 28 (156.5712) | — |